1. Related Applications
This application is a Continuation-In-Part of and claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/374,440 filed on Apr. 22, 2002 for Racing Visions, L.L.C.
2. The Field of the Invention
The invention relates to remotely controlling vehicles over a network and, more specifically, to providing centralized communication with a plurality of remotely controlled vehicles over a data network.
3. The Relevant Art
Remotely controlling scaled vehicles has been a popular hobby for many years. Children and adults are fascinated by the opportunity to control vehicles that normally are not available for use, such as military vehicles or trains. Scale replicas of racecars, boats, submarines, dune buggies, monster trucks, and motorcycles are among the vehicles that are widely available for remote control enthusiasts.
Modelers and manufacturers of scaled vehicles put forth considerable time and effort to attain a scaled vehicle with a life-like appearance. For many, great pleasure is derived from controlling a realistically scaled vehicle. Many methods have been developed to control scaled vehicles. Control mechanisms exist that utilize a physical connection, such as a cable, between the vehicle and the controller. This simple control mechanism is relatively inexpensive and easy to implement but requires that the user follow the vehicle. To overcome these limitations, radio control, or R/C, mechanisms have been developed.
Radio controllers facilitate the control of a vehicle through radio transmissions. By breaking the physical link between the vehicle and controller, R/C enthusiasts are able to participate in organized group events such as racing or with friends in what is known as “backyard bashing.” Additionally, R/C controllers have allowed scaled vehicles to travel over and under water, and through the air, which for obvious reasons was not previously possible with a cabled control mechanism.
Racing scaled versions of NASCAR™, Formula 1™, and Indy™ series racecars has become very popular because, unlike other sports, the public generally does not have the opportunity to race these cars. Although scaled racecars give the hobbyist the feeling of racing, for example, a stock car, remotely racing a scaled racecar may lack realism. In order to make a racecar visually interesting to the point of view of the racer, the racecar is normally operated at speeds that if scaled are unrealistic. Additionally R/C is limited by the amount of channels or frequencies available for use. Currently, operators of racing tracks or airplane parks must track each user's frequency and when all of the available channels are being used, no new users are allowed to participate.
A solution to this problem has been to assign a binary address to each vehicle in a system. Command data is then attached to the binary address and transmitted to all vehicles in the system. In an analog R/C environment, commands to multiple vehicles must be placed in a queue and transmitted sequentially; this presents a slight lag between a user control and response by the vehicle. Each vehicle constantly monitors transmitted commands and waits for a command with the assigned binary address. Limitations to this system include the loss of fine control of vehicles due to transmit lag, and ultimately the number of vehicles is limited because the time lag could become too great.
Accordingly, an apparent need exists for a system and method of remotely controlling a plurality of scaled vehicles over a data network. Beneficially, the proposed system and method would allow multiple vehicle operators to utilize the data network for control signal transmissions as well as for storing user profiles particular to each vehicle operator.